The present invention relates to a patient care apparatus and, more particularly, to a wireless communication system that transmits information relating to an infant to a receiver affixed to or integrated within an infant care apparatus.
In the care of newborn infants, there are various types of apparatus that provide heat to an infant and such apparatus can include infant incubators, infant warmers and combinations of the two. In such apparatus, there is normally provided, an infant platform on which the infant is positioned so as to receive the care and that infant platform is a generally planar surface located so as to underlie the infant.
In the case of an infant warmer, there are also normally provided side guards that extend upwardly surrounding the periphery of the infant platform in order to protect the infant and to retain that infant on the infant platform. With an infant incubator, the infant platform is generally surrounded by an enclosure that provides a controlled atmosphere for the infant including control of the heat and humidity within the protective enclosure.
An infant warmer is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,517 of Falk et al as prior art to that patent; a infant incubator is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,824 of Mackin et al and a combination apparatus that combines the functions of both an infant warmer and an infant incubator is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,224,539 of Jones et al.
A commonality involved in the providing of care to an infant using any of such apparatus is that there are normally present, a number of monitors that determine certain physiological or physical conditions of the infant and those monitors receive the necessary information from the infant by means of sensors that are actually affixed to or are located proximate to the infant. Specifically, such sensors that are normally affixed to the infant include an infant skin temperature sensor that monitors the surface temperature of the skin of the infant and also a standard three lead ECG sensor that senses ECG of the infant as well as respiratory effort by thoracic impedance.
With the infant, therefore, both sensors compete for space on the skin of the infant and both sensors currently have hard wires that connect the sensors to a monitor that displays the particular sensed condition. In addition, of course, there are other sensors that may or may not be actually affixed to the infant but are in close proximity thereto and can include sensors providing information to SPO2 monitors, EEG monitors, security system devices and even a scale to ascertain the weight of the infant.
Obviously, one of the difficulties in having one or more sensors proximate to or affixed to the infant raises issues relating to the access to the infant since the caregiver needs, at times, to have full access to the infant and is often hampered by the presence of wires, tubes and the like that are attached to the infant and which make full and unfettered access to the infant somewhat difficult. In addition, the infant may be moved on the infant platform or rolled over by the caregiver during the process of caring for the infant or carrying out some intervention on the infant and, again, the presence of wires leading to sensors affixed to the infant creates problems.
With the vast myriad of wires, there is also the possibility that one or more of the wires may inadvertently become disconnected and may go unnoticed or, if noticed, require the caregiver to reattach that sensor, thereby causing a disruption to the infant who is already at a time of great stress.
It would therefore be advantageous to have a system in place that operates with an infant care apparatus that transmits signals from various infant probes and sensors or other information gathering devices, that must be in close proximity to the infant or attached to that infant, by some wireless telemetry means to a visual display or other information providing device that is affixed to or is integrated into the infant care apparatus.